Technology

The digitisation of our world cannot be reversed. In fact, it is speeding up. We have entered an era of exponential growth, and traditional organisations must come to terms with the shifting of power underfoot and start implementing their own digital transformation strategies if they are to remain in the game.

Remote working has been steadily growing worldwide over the last decade, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world’s hand and made this method of work mainstream. When businesses have the majority of their workforce working from home, what are the implications for cyber security and threat management?

By 2025, it is estimated the population will generate half a zettabyte every single day – that’s 100 times a trillion gigabytes. By understanding the amount of data humanity produces and how to leverage it effectively, businesses will have the ability to find more success in the modern age.

The dual forces of digital transformation and technological innovation are the new normal in business. This means that all workers, not just those orchestrating these endeavours, need to accrue an arsenal of skills to remain relevant in their roles and competitive in their careers.

We know the future calls for new skills and knowledge. We know what’s in demand. But here we take a closer look at the details and how these areas intersect across sectors, garnering insights from experts in public policy, economics and the world of technology.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR), is upon us and affecting almost every industry globally, transforming how organisations operate and shaping a world where consumers are enabled and empowered by digital technologies, platforms and processes. But is Australia and its business community well placed to succeed in an environment of transformative technologies, automation and human-machine interaction?

If boardroom walls could, talk they would share chatter of the growing threat of digitisation and its disruption of nearly all economic sectors. The ultimate question always stems from: how should they respond? Bend, bow or fight?

As cybersecurity threats become increasingly frequent and sophisticated, organisations of all stripes require the expertise to remain secure. The case of Huawei vs T-Mobile exposes the need to extend the existing technology lens in cybersecurity to better include the business perspective and its management practices if organisations are to avoid future significant security breaches.

With Artificial Intelligence set to displace jobs typically performed by women at a faster rate than men’s, a group of women were invited to discuss the growing digital gender divide. We asked three Australians how they might step into the male-dominated world of tech and develop their technical literacy to ensure that their future is both secure, and more gender neutral.

There was a time when the digital underbelly of our world was neatly hidden out of view. The secrets behind technology’s inner workings were placed in the care of our digital and IT experts, while the rest of us dealt only with the beautifully designed and consumer-friendly ‘front end’. For the large majority of us, all we needed to know was that by pressing a button on our phones, we could call a friend. Beyond that, there was no reason to care.

The third industrial revolution saw the swift spread of digital technologies, such as telephones, televisions and personal computers, to people across the globe. At this time, novelist Thomas Pynchon asked whether it was “OK to be a Luddite?”, ‘Luddite’ meaning someone who is opposed to technological progress based on a fear of mass job disruption and loss. In response, Richard Conniff, also a novelist, noted that “a better question today is whether it’s even possible. Technology is everywhere”.

As the global march of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) powers on, blurring boundaries between the physical, digital and biological elements of our lives as it goes, how it can and will influence Australia’s future economy is of growing relevance. For a country in theory well placed to prosper, understanding its implications and opportunities offers the best chance of adopting the skills and measures which will see competitiveness retained in this age of change.

The lightning speed at which industry is innovating is threatening to leave the world’s workforce behind. Those who wish to keep pace will do well to mirror technology’s insatiable desire for advancement and agility by continually investing in upskilling, so that they are prepared to lead, rather than follow, or fall off  the wave of inevitable disruption.

It’s true, the robots are coming, and the computers that are already here are getting smarter by the day, but how much should workers really be worrying about tech taking their livelihoods?

As businesses undergo increasing digital transformation, an innovative data-driven approach to organisational improvement — process mining — is being adopted by organisations around the world.

The digital transformation of business is rapidly changing the role of CTOs, CIOs and broader technology management. As I.T. executives embrace forward facing challenges, how will their key responsibilities evolve and what does the future look like?